Oct 23 – 2008
Colombo All Share index fell by 85.40 points or 4.5% & closed at 1815.17 while more sensitive blue chip index (Milanka Index) fell by 93.14 & closed at 2034.03.
Turnover was LKR 236 million. Foreign selling continued and local investors also joined them for massive selloff.
JKH closed at LKR 64.50 & Sri Lanka Telecom closed at 36.00 Rupees (Down by LKR 2).
Although current interest rate are too high my opinion is investors should accumulate good stocks with super financial background at this fallen prices. Remember market will not always in down side.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Some Smart Tips To Make The Most Of Stock Investing
Stock investing is a very profitable business for people who take time out to analyze market trends and formulate their own strategies for them. Yes, education is needed if you have to make any real profits in stocks. It is not just about buying any stocks and twiddling your thumbs waiting for the companies to make a profit so that the stocks pay off. There are some intelligent calculations and studies needed.
Here are some smart tips to help you reap good rewards in your stock investing:-
1. The first and foremost thing to remember is that you need to chalk out your own strategies, even if you have a good broker to give you advice. Most investors trade blindly as other people tell them to. This is unwise for many reasons. First, the people may not be knowledgeable about the market and might be just faking their expertise. Secondly, if you trade according to what others tell you to, you will never gain your own experience. The best bet is to analyze situations yourself and trade even if you make mistakes it will be an educating experience for you.
2. The rule of the thumb by which most stock investors learn the ropes is to buy when low and sell when high. This is a very safe rule and must be adhered to, at least by amateur investors. As you grow, you will like to take risks and the term bear and bull will take on a wholly new meaning for you. But, in the beginning try to trade by the norms.
3. Create a portfolio for yourself. No wise investor will invest all his/her stock in one company. That's not wise even if the company is a very profit making company currently. The best thing to do here is to fill your stock investment bag with a number of small and big investments. The big ones will move slowly probably, but the small ones will be the ones that will be the real 'livelihood' shares, and will keep the money flowing.
4. Keep an ear out for market trends that spell good future turnabouts. If any company is announcing an Initial Public Offering and if the name is reputable, this is your chance to make a worthwhile investment. Similarly, mergers that are bound to happen, new products that are going to be launched in general, any step forward for a company is a good time to invest in shares.
5. Even before thinking of investing in shares, you need to plan out your risk management. Do not invest all your money in shares. Keep a healthy portion in safe investment like a fixed deposit in a bank. You never know when these could turn to be your handiest investment.
Make a small and safe beginning and see where your stock investing takes you. It will be a very eventful ride, if nothing else!
Here are some smart tips to help you reap good rewards in your stock investing:-
1. The first and foremost thing to remember is that you need to chalk out your own strategies, even if you have a good broker to give you advice. Most investors trade blindly as other people tell them to. This is unwise for many reasons. First, the people may not be knowledgeable about the market and might be just faking their expertise. Secondly, if you trade according to what others tell you to, you will never gain your own experience. The best bet is to analyze situations yourself and trade even if you make mistakes it will be an educating experience for you.
2. The rule of the thumb by which most stock investors learn the ropes is to buy when low and sell when high. This is a very safe rule and must be adhered to, at least by amateur investors. As you grow, you will like to take risks and the term bear and bull will take on a wholly new meaning for you. But, in the beginning try to trade by the norms.
3. Create a portfolio for yourself. No wise investor will invest all his/her stock in one company. That's not wise even if the company is a very profit making company currently. The best thing to do here is to fill your stock investment bag with a number of small and big investments. The big ones will move slowly probably, but the small ones will be the ones that will be the real 'livelihood' shares, and will keep the money flowing.
4. Keep an ear out for market trends that spell good future turnabouts. If any company is announcing an Initial Public Offering and if the name is reputable, this is your chance to make a worthwhile investment. Similarly, mergers that are bound to happen, new products that are going to be launched in general, any step forward for a company is a good time to invest in shares.
5. Even before thinking of investing in shares, you need to plan out your risk management. Do not invest all your money in shares. Keep a healthy portion in safe investment like a fixed deposit in a bank. You never know when these could turn to be your handiest investment.
Make a small and safe beginning and see where your stock investing takes you. It will be a very eventful ride, if nothing else!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Panicked global markets reel, Wall Street plunges below 10,000 pts
06/10/2008 16h35
NEW YORK (AFP) - Global stock markets reeled Monday, shaken by massive sell-offs by panicked investors who fear a much-vaunted US finance sector bailout will fail to end a crippling credit crisis.
"There is all-out panic," said ING senior strategist Adrian van Tiggelen.
"Everyone had hoped that after the acceptance of the package in the US and the bailouts in Europe, things would calm down but in effect, there are still strong fears of the domino effect."
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below the key psychological level of 10,000 points for the first time since October 2004. The blue-chip index fell to as low as 9,992 before steadying somewhat.
The Dow was later down 4.02 percent at 9,910.66 points at mid-day.
The slide in the Dow sparked huge losses in Europe, with markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt all plunging between 7.0 and 9.0 percent. Asian exchanges earlier in the day also closed heavily in negative territory.
"There is a crisis of confidence behind the selling interest," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com of the declines on Wall Street.
"Quite simply, there is a reluctance to believe the financial relief plan will produce a quick fix for the global financial system and global economy."
Investors dumped shares after US markets fell sharply on Friday despite US congressional approval of a 700-billion-dollar plan for the government to take on some of the soured US bank debt that has sparked a global credit squeeze.
"Markets are looking ugly around the globe. Investors are voting on the bailout plan with their feet. The crisis is now accelerating," said Barry Ritholtz at Ritholtz Research & Analytics.
European equities were rattled by fresh troubles after a weekend meeting of the leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Italy failed a produce a joint European financial rescue package.
"There's a massive lack of confidence," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Keith Bowman.
"The overriding factor is the difficulties we saw in Europe over the weekend.
"Added to that, although we did see the US bailout package voted for successfully on Friday, there are still a number of questions and concerns in terms of its timing and implementation."
The London FTSE 100 index of leading shares fell 7.85 percent to 4,589.19 points while in Paris the CAC 40 index shed 9.04 percent, its heaviest one-day loss since its creation in 1988, to 3,711.98 points.
The Frankfurt DAX lost 7.07 percent at 5,387.01 points. In Dublin the Irish stock exchange's main ISEQ index ended with a loss of 9.59 percent at 3,565.54, with banks taking the hardest hit.
Markets in Amsterdam, Madrid, Milan and Brussels were down between 6.0 and 9.14 percent at the end of the day.
Iceland's stock market suspended trading in all financial shares including three major banks on Monday amid government talks on a possible rescue for the banking sector.
Russia's dollar-denominated RTS stock market suffered its worst-ever one-day fall, closing down 19.10 percent, a spokesman for the bourse told AFP.
"It was the biggest one-day fall" ever, the spokesman said after the index closed at 866.39 points, 65 percent down from an all-time high posted in May this year.
Nordic markets also took a heavy beating.
Some analysts said the financial troubles were spreading, making it harder for government authorities to stop the rot.
"European governments are rushing to the rescue of their financial institutions, which are still stymied by a seizure in bank lending. Problems are being uncovered among the largest US insurers, who are being stung by losses in their investment portfolios," said Chris Lafakis at Economy.com.
"Insurers are now joining financial institutions in the hunt for capital. US equities are hemorrhaging as the problems in the global financial system threaten to drag the world into recession."
European stocks plunged after Germany's fourth biggest bank, Hypo Real Estate, had to be rescued afresh over the weekend -- news that helped push the euro to a 13-month low against the dollar on Monday.
As the US-centred financial crisis takes a stronger grip in Europe, the German government agreed an emergency rescue package of 50 billion euros (68 billion dollars) for Hypo Real Estate late Sunday. It also announced an unlimited guarantee for personal savings deposits.
"There was great expectation that finance ministers and heads of government might come away with something more concrete as far as a package for Europe was concerned and that certainly did not materialise," said Bowman of the weekend meeting.
"Things took a turn for the worse with the German government looking to reassure investors with a complete (bank deposit) guarantee across the board and if anything that was against the tone of the meeting itself.
"Investors have lost some confidence because events in Europe at the moment still look very difficult."
France's BNP Paribas meanwhile announced Sunday that it was taking control of the operations of ailing financial group Fortis in Belgium and Luxembourg.
In an effort to keep credit flowing, global central banks pumped billions of extra dollars into short-term lending markets in what has become a daily effort to keep cash moving in a critical network.
Markets were looking ahead to a meeting Friday of finance chiefs from the Group of Seven rich nations, waiting for any announcements on coordinated action such as liquidity injections or interest rate cuts, dealers said.
A speech Tuesday by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would also be closely watched for any clues on the possibility of a US interest rate cut.
NEW YORK (AFP) - Global stock markets reeled Monday, shaken by massive sell-offs by panicked investors who fear a much-vaunted US finance sector bailout will fail to end a crippling credit crisis.
"There is all-out panic," said ING senior strategist Adrian van Tiggelen.
"Everyone had hoped that after the acceptance of the package in the US and the bailouts in Europe, things would calm down but in effect, there are still strong fears of the domino effect."
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below the key psychological level of 10,000 points for the first time since October 2004. The blue-chip index fell to as low as 9,992 before steadying somewhat.
The Dow was later down 4.02 percent at 9,910.66 points at mid-day.
The slide in the Dow sparked huge losses in Europe, with markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt all plunging between 7.0 and 9.0 percent. Asian exchanges earlier in the day also closed heavily in negative territory.
"There is a crisis of confidence behind the selling interest," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com of the declines on Wall Street.
"Quite simply, there is a reluctance to believe the financial relief plan will produce a quick fix for the global financial system and global economy."
Investors dumped shares after US markets fell sharply on Friday despite US congressional approval of a 700-billion-dollar plan for the government to take on some of the soured US bank debt that has sparked a global credit squeeze.
"Markets are looking ugly around the globe. Investors are voting on the bailout plan with their feet. The crisis is now accelerating," said Barry Ritholtz at Ritholtz Research & Analytics.
European equities were rattled by fresh troubles after a weekend meeting of the leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Italy failed a produce a joint European financial rescue package.
"There's a massive lack of confidence," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Keith Bowman.
"The overriding factor is the difficulties we saw in Europe over the weekend.
"Added to that, although we did see the US bailout package voted for successfully on Friday, there are still a number of questions and concerns in terms of its timing and implementation."
The London FTSE 100 index of leading shares fell 7.85 percent to 4,589.19 points while in Paris the CAC 40 index shed 9.04 percent, its heaviest one-day loss since its creation in 1988, to 3,711.98 points.
The Frankfurt DAX lost 7.07 percent at 5,387.01 points. In Dublin the Irish stock exchange's main ISEQ index ended with a loss of 9.59 percent at 3,565.54, with banks taking the hardest hit.
Markets in Amsterdam, Madrid, Milan and Brussels were down between 6.0 and 9.14 percent at the end of the day.
Iceland's stock market suspended trading in all financial shares including three major banks on Monday amid government talks on a possible rescue for the banking sector.
Russia's dollar-denominated RTS stock market suffered its worst-ever one-day fall, closing down 19.10 percent, a spokesman for the bourse told AFP.
"It was the biggest one-day fall" ever, the spokesman said after the index closed at 866.39 points, 65 percent down from an all-time high posted in May this year.
Nordic markets also took a heavy beating.
Some analysts said the financial troubles were spreading, making it harder for government authorities to stop the rot.
"European governments are rushing to the rescue of their financial institutions, which are still stymied by a seizure in bank lending. Problems are being uncovered among the largest US insurers, who are being stung by losses in their investment portfolios," said Chris Lafakis at Economy.com.
"Insurers are now joining financial institutions in the hunt for capital. US equities are hemorrhaging as the problems in the global financial system threaten to drag the world into recession."
European stocks plunged after Germany's fourth biggest bank, Hypo Real Estate, had to be rescued afresh over the weekend -- news that helped push the euro to a 13-month low against the dollar on Monday.
As the US-centred financial crisis takes a stronger grip in Europe, the German government agreed an emergency rescue package of 50 billion euros (68 billion dollars) for Hypo Real Estate late Sunday. It also announced an unlimited guarantee for personal savings deposits.
"There was great expectation that finance ministers and heads of government might come away with something more concrete as far as a package for Europe was concerned and that certainly did not materialise," said Bowman of the weekend meeting.
"Things took a turn for the worse with the German government looking to reassure investors with a complete (bank deposit) guarantee across the board and if anything that was against the tone of the meeting itself.
"Investors have lost some confidence because events in Europe at the moment still look very difficult."
France's BNP Paribas meanwhile announced Sunday that it was taking control of the operations of ailing financial group Fortis in Belgium and Luxembourg.
In an effort to keep credit flowing, global central banks pumped billions of extra dollars into short-term lending markets in what has become a daily effort to keep cash moving in a critical network.
Markets were looking ahead to a meeting Friday of finance chiefs from the Group of Seven rich nations, waiting for any announcements on coordinated action such as liquidity injections or interest rate cuts, dealers said.
A speech Tuesday by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would also be closely watched for any clues on the possibility of a US interest rate cut.
Investing In Shares Is Not All That Intimidating
When most people begin contemplating about investing in shares in their younger days, most probably they meet with some friendly elderly advice like, 'Never ever invest in shares %u2013 there's no gamble worse than stock investments' or something quite close to that. But, really, buying shares (more technically, stock investing) is not all that bad. If have you half a mind to learn it, you can master the strategies involved, and sooner than you think, your investments will begin paying off too.
To make a beginning, let us begin by understanding what shares are. Shares are exactly what they mean literally %u2013 they are a share in a public company. Any public company needs investment to begin operations and then to continue those operations. This investment is generally huge. For that reason, the company raises capital by announcing its public issue shares in the market. This is called as a Initial Public Offering (popularly called as IPO). Each share has a particular face value and generally anyone is free to buy any amount of shares. So, if you buy a hundred shares of the company, what you are actually doing is this %u2013 you are giving a capital worth the face value of the hundred shares to the company. In return, you will get a hundred share certificates and you will have ownership rights within the company to that extent. You will get voting rights within the company, but your ownership will be restricted to that.
Now where is the investment in all this? Let us come that that now. When you buy the shares, you have invested that much capital in the company. As the company functions, it might make profits or losses. Depending on that, the total values of the shares will respectively rise or fall in comparison to the face value you paid initially. When the share values rise and fall, you are also respectively gaining and losing.
You are not bound to the company, even if you are owning a portion of it. When the share prices rise, you are free to sell off those shares and make a neat profit in the process. Whereas, if the share prices fall, you have the option of either selling the shares with a loss for yourself and trying your luck with some other company, or to wait and watch if the company makes progress in the near future. It is really as simple as that.
Wise old men would say that this is indeed a form of gamble. But it is not wholly a gamble, whatever the sages would say. The reason is that stock investing is usually done after a careful research of market trends and there is a innate talent in some people to sense out the investments that would pay off richly in the future. It is not all chance; there are predictions and strategies that can help an investor make the most of their investments.
So, go ahead and invest in shares. Play low in the beginning, learn the ropes and then make bigger investments. The knowledge does only come with experience, and what a rich knowledge it is!
To make a beginning, let us begin by understanding what shares are. Shares are exactly what they mean literally %u2013 they are a share in a public company. Any public company needs investment to begin operations and then to continue those operations. This investment is generally huge. For that reason, the company raises capital by announcing its public issue shares in the market. This is called as a Initial Public Offering (popularly called as IPO). Each share has a particular face value and generally anyone is free to buy any amount of shares. So, if you buy a hundred shares of the company, what you are actually doing is this %u2013 you are giving a capital worth the face value of the hundred shares to the company. In return, you will get a hundred share certificates and you will have ownership rights within the company to that extent. You will get voting rights within the company, but your ownership will be restricted to that.
Now where is the investment in all this? Let us come that that now. When you buy the shares, you have invested that much capital in the company. As the company functions, it might make profits or losses. Depending on that, the total values of the shares will respectively rise or fall in comparison to the face value you paid initially. When the share values rise and fall, you are also respectively gaining and losing.
You are not bound to the company, even if you are owning a portion of it. When the share prices rise, you are free to sell off those shares and make a neat profit in the process. Whereas, if the share prices fall, you have the option of either selling the shares with a loss for yourself and trying your luck with some other company, or to wait and watch if the company makes progress in the near future. It is really as simple as that.
Wise old men would say that this is indeed a form of gamble. But it is not wholly a gamble, whatever the sages would say. The reason is that stock investing is usually done after a careful research of market trends and there is a innate talent in some people to sense out the investments that would pay off richly in the future. It is not all chance; there are predictions and strategies that can help an investor make the most of their investments.
So, go ahead and invest in shares. Play low in the beginning, learn the ropes and then make bigger investments. The knowledge does only come with experience, and what a rich knowledge it is!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Colombo Market up marginally on thin trading - 02-10-2008
The All Share Price Index was up 6.35 points at 2,148.61 while the Milanka went up 10.35 points to 2,407.54. Turnover was LKR 84.8 million.
Investors are still on wait & see attitude due to global financial crisis.
JKH & SLT up by 50 cents & closed LKR 87 & 42 respectively.
Dialog Telekom was the most actively traded share but closed flat at LKR 8.
Announcements
LANKA VENTURES PLC
The Company informed the CSE that regarding the Tax refunds matter, the Board of Director of the Company have decided to recognize a provision of Rs.130,247,094 in the financial statements for the quarter ended 30 September 2008. This represents the amount received in the form of tax refunds during the financial year 2003/4.The balance amounting to Rs.105,301,769 will continue to be treated as a contingent liability in the Company's financial statements.
CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES (COLOMBO) PLC
The Company informed the followingThis is to inform you that the 49% holding in our associate Dev-Fern(Pvt) Ltd. And 21% holding in our associate, Software Management Services(Pvt) Ltd have been disposed by the Company with effect from 30th September 2008.This divestment will not have a material impact on the overall profitability of the Company and the Group.
CEYLON THEATERS PLC - DIVIDEND
Company ID:- CTHRDate of Announcement:- 02 .Oct. 2008.Rate of Dividend:- Rs.0.15 Per Share-2nd Interim Dividend Financial Year:- 2007/2008XD:- 07. Oct. 2008 Payment:- 20. Oct. 2008Share Transfer Book Open
JOHN KEELLS HOLDINGS PLC - DIVIDEND
Company ID:- JKHDate of Announcement:- 02 .Oct. 2008.Rate of Dividend:- Rs.1.00 Per Share-Interim Dividend Financial Year:- 2008/2009XD:- 13. Oct. 2008 Payment:- 24. Oct. 2008Share Transfer Book Open
Investors are still on wait & see attitude due to global financial crisis.
JKH & SLT up by 50 cents & closed LKR 87 & 42 respectively.
Dialog Telekom was the most actively traded share but closed flat at LKR 8.
Announcements
LANKA VENTURES PLC
The Company informed the CSE that regarding the Tax refunds matter, the Board of Director of the Company have decided to recognize a provision of Rs.130,247,094 in the financial statements for the quarter ended 30 September 2008. This represents the amount received in the form of tax refunds during the financial year 2003/4.The balance amounting to Rs.105,301,769 will continue to be treated as a contingent liability in the Company's financial statements.
CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES (COLOMBO) PLC
The Company informed the followingThis is to inform you that the 49% holding in our associate Dev-Fern(Pvt) Ltd. And 21% holding in our associate, Software Management Services(Pvt) Ltd have been disposed by the Company with effect from 30th September 2008.This divestment will not have a material impact on the overall profitability of the Company and the Group.
CEYLON THEATERS PLC - DIVIDEND
Company ID:- CTHRDate of Announcement:- 02 .Oct. 2008.Rate of Dividend:- Rs.0.15 Per Share-2nd Interim Dividend Financial Year:- 2007/2008XD:- 07. Oct. 2008 Payment:- 20. Oct. 2008Share Transfer Book Open
JOHN KEELLS HOLDINGS PLC - DIVIDEND
Company ID:- JKHDate of Announcement:- 02 .Oct. 2008.Rate of Dividend:- Rs.1.00 Per Share-Interim Dividend Financial Year:- 2008/2009XD:- 13. Oct. 2008 Payment:- 24. Oct. 2008Share Transfer Book Open
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Senate passes bailout, hiking pressure on House
02/10/2008 03h06
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Senate resoundingly passed a sweetened 700-billion-dollar Wall Street bailout Wednesday, spurring hopes the House of Representatives would follow suit after killing an earlier bid to avert a world financial meltdown.
The Senate voted 74-25 to back the amended Bush administration bailout plan, designed to ease a deepening credit freeze and volatility on global stock markets spawned by the crisis on Wall Street.
Just over a month from election day, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain also backed the effort, piling pressure on the House, which sent shockwaves around the world on Monday by rejecting the package.
President George W. Bush welcomed the passage of the bill, and called on the House to act in the next two days to avoid further damage to the US economy, amid conflicting signals over the bill's prospects.
"The American people expect and our economy demands that the House pass this good bill this week and send it to my desk," Bush said in a statement.
The Senate sweetened the original deal, which gives the US Treasury the power to buy up toxic mortgage debt choking the financial industry, to court conservative Republicans who helped block the original version in the House.
They raised the ceiling on federal insurance for bank deposits from 100,000 dollars to 250,000 dollars, and extended some expired tax breaks for small businesses.
Senators also retained the limits of "golden parachute" severance payments to disgraced Wall Street executives which were not in the original Bush administration plan.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who has worked for weeks to calm the raging financial crisis, also urged the House to "act promptly to pass the bill."
Senior Democratic Senator Max Baucus predicted the changes would be enough to win passage in the House, which is likely to take up the new bill on Friday.
"I think we have turned the corner tonight," Baucus said after the vote.
"I think the House will vote in favor of this legislation."
But Democratic House Majority leader Steny Hoyer had earlier sounded a note of caution, saying the bill would only be brought to a vote if it was certain to pass.
"If there is bipartisan, majority support for the Senate package, we will likely bring it to the floor on Friday," he said.
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid also talked up the bill's prospects.
"I would not move forward on this if I didn't think the chance in the House was good," Reid told reporters, and warned that a major US insurance firm, which he did not name, could go bankrupt without prompt congressional action.
Opponents of the bill in the House have expressed qualms about using vast amounts of tax payer money to bailout out Wall Street firms they blame for rash trading.
Some Democratic opponents of the bill have also demanded a companion stimulus package to help working Americans and those who risk losing their homes to foreclosure.
New talks were underway in the House meanwhile on tweaking the package to ensure it gets through on a second vote, after lawmakers sensationally killed off the original bill on Monday by 228 to 205 votes.
Hoyer raised concerns that some of his fellow Democrats who originally voted for the bailout might reject it over the Senate's extension of expired tax breaks for businesses.
"There's no doubt the tax package is very controversial. The Senate, in my opinion, is adding that on because they think that's the only way they can get it passed," Hoyer told NBC.
After the Senate vote, the chief Democratic bailout negotiator in the House Barney Frank told CNN the bill was still not a sure bet to pass.
"It's still uncertain; it is likelier to pass than before," Frank said.
Every House member is up for reelection on November 4, and many lawmakers in tight reelection fights opposed the unpopular package on Monday fearing for their seats.
But the subsequent plunge of stocks, which took many 401(k) market-based pension plans down with them, may have altered the political calculation.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Senate resoundingly passed a sweetened 700-billion-dollar Wall Street bailout Wednesday, spurring hopes the House of Representatives would follow suit after killing an earlier bid to avert a world financial meltdown.
The Senate voted 74-25 to back the amended Bush administration bailout plan, designed to ease a deepening credit freeze and volatility on global stock markets spawned by the crisis on Wall Street.
Just over a month from election day, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain also backed the effort, piling pressure on the House, which sent shockwaves around the world on Monday by rejecting the package.
President George W. Bush welcomed the passage of the bill, and called on the House to act in the next two days to avoid further damage to the US economy, amid conflicting signals over the bill's prospects.
"The American people expect and our economy demands that the House pass this good bill this week and send it to my desk," Bush said in a statement.
The Senate sweetened the original deal, which gives the US Treasury the power to buy up toxic mortgage debt choking the financial industry, to court conservative Republicans who helped block the original version in the House.
They raised the ceiling on federal insurance for bank deposits from 100,000 dollars to 250,000 dollars, and extended some expired tax breaks for small businesses.
Senators also retained the limits of "golden parachute" severance payments to disgraced Wall Street executives which were not in the original Bush administration plan.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who has worked for weeks to calm the raging financial crisis, also urged the House to "act promptly to pass the bill."
Senior Democratic Senator Max Baucus predicted the changes would be enough to win passage in the House, which is likely to take up the new bill on Friday.
"I think we have turned the corner tonight," Baucus said after the vote.
"I think the House will vote in favor of this legislation."
But Democratic House Majority leader Steny Hoyer had earlier sounded a note of caution, saying the bill would only be brought to a vote if it was certain to pass.
"If there is bipartisan, majority support for the Senate package, we will likely bring it to the floor on Friday," he said.
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid also talked up the bill's prospects.
"I would not move forward on this if I didn't think the chance in the House was good," Reid told reporters, and warned that a major US insurance firm, which he did not name, could go bankrupt without prompt congressional action.
Opponents of the bill in the House have expressed qualms about using vast amounts of tax payer money to bailout out Wall Street firms they blame for rash trading.
Some Democratic opponents of the bill have also demanded a companion stimulus package to help working Americans and those who risk losing their homes to foreclosure.
New talks were underway in the House meanwhile on tweaking the package to ensure it gets through on a second vote, after lawmakers sensationally killed off the original bill on Monday by 228 to 205 votes.
Hoyer raised concerns that some of his fellow Democrats who originally voted for the bailout might reject it over the Senate's extension of expired tax breaks for businesses.
"There's no doubt the tax package is very controversial. The Senate, in my opinion, is adding that on because they think that's the only way they can get it passed," Hoyer told NBC.
After the Senate vote, the chief Democratic bailout negotiator in the House Barney Frank told CNN the bill was still not a sure bet to pass.
"It's still uncertain; it is likelier to pass than before," Frank said.
Every House member is up for reelection on November 4, and many lawmakers in tight reelection fights opposed the unpopular package on Monday fearing for their seats.
But the subsequent plunge of stocks, which took many 401(k) market-based pension plans down with them, may have altered the political calculation.
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